The Journal

Issue date: 9/6/07 Section: Opinion and Editorial

Returning Webster University students and faculty members might have noticed our campus seems more crowded. The Office of Public Affairs data shows our freshman class alone has hit a record of 490 newcomers.

With the addition of new students, the university needs more space. While all new students are welcome, the administration does not seem to be addressing the issues surrounding overcrowding.

Many classes have reached maximum capacity and are still being filled. Research done by Holly Hassel, assistant professor at the University of Wisconsin, Marathon County and Jessica Lourey, general education instructor at Alexandria Technical College in Alexandria, Minn., shows there is a direct correlation between large class size and student absences, apathetic attitudes and an overall lack of accountability for one's educational goals. While Webster's classes are still small by standards of larger universities, it will soon see an increase in indifference when professors cannot give as much direct attention to students.

Students do not get the kind of individualized attention Webster has always prided itself on when they are forced to cram around tables bumping elbows or sit at desks so close together you can count the neck hairs of the person in front of you.

The fact sheet located on Webster's Web site boasts that the average class size is 12 students.

It also fails to leave out any department-specific data. You would be hard pressed to find communications or business majors with only 12 people in one of their classes. I am an English and religious studies major, and I have had one class with fewer than 12 students in the past two years.

Joseph Kast, a senior media communications major, commented on the size of his playwriting workshop held in Pearson House Room 4.

"There are 16 people in my class. Not everyone can even sit at the table," he said.

There are two people in the class who sit on chairs away from the table, and one who attempts to use another chair as a desk.

Class participation relies partly on the students' ability to feel comfortable with each other as a group. When one or two students are left out, it affects the entire class. This is especially true in creative writing workshops where students are expected to read and criticize each other's works, which are often very personal.

University Registrar Donald Morris says that every year, the amount of classrooms needed exceeds the available space Webster has to offer. Classes with extremely low enrollment are canceled altogether or moved to tiny conference rooms. Classes have been held consistently at Webster Groves High School for years, and the religious studies department consists of one hallway in a building belonging to the neighboring Eden Theological Seminary.

Continued...

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